24 December 2007

Announcing RCI - Cuisine of Kerala

Welcome to God's Own Country! Join in to embark on a culinary journey through the beautiful state of Kerala, tucked away in the south-western corner of India. As the journey takes you through the Western Ghats, dense forests, exotic wildlife and calm backwaters, sprawling tea estates, spice and rubber plantations, lush paddy fields and clean beaches, sit back and take in the sights and sounds of this charming land.

Regional Cuisines of India(RCI), the brainchild of LakshmiK, will be hosted by yours truly in January 2008. The cusine of Kerala has its own distinctive flavour. Coconut forms a dominant part of the cuisine as Kerala, literally translated means Land of "Kera" or Coconuts. Rice is the staple food and a wide array of breakfast preparations are rice-based. A typical meal consists of rice, a kootan or gravy and an upperi or dry side dish along with crunchy pappadams and pickles. Tamarind, coconut, coconut milk or curd form the base for a kootan/gravy while upperi/dry sidedish is eithera thoran, ie. a medley of vegetables and grated coconut or mezhukuparatti, ie. stir fried vegetables coated in oil. A typical sadhya/festive feast consists of a number of sumptuous dishes served on a banana leaf. For non- vegetarians, seafood or some form of meat is a part of every meal. Different regions and communities influence the method of preparation and flavour of the cuisine.

What are you waiting for? Put on those aprons and cook up a storm! If you are not very familiar with Kerala cuisine, you can google it or go to this one-stop portal "Essence of Kerala Cuisine". You can also find authentic recipes here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and many more in the food blog community. To participate :

1. Write a post on your blog featuring Cuisine of Kerala from now until the 25th of Jan 2008, including a link to this post.

2. Mail me the permalink/URL to your post, along with a picture of the dish at vjyothsna1@yahoo.com . I shall respond to your email when I receive it. If you do not receive a response from me in three days, please remind me.

3. Non- bloggers may mail me with the recipe and a picture of the dish.

About Currybazaar

Namastey and welcome to Currybazaar! This is my personal weblog and the recipes here have been tried and tested in my kitchen to suit the tastes of my family. Over a period of time, many of these recipes may undergo some modifications and changes according to our changing palates. You may feel free to browse thru' my posts and leave your comments or queries in the comment section of the particular recipe. Hope you enjoy your visit here. See you again! J.

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